


The Future in the Past

by Peytonkmc



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-25 16:59:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peytonkmc/pseuds/Peytonkmc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter wakes 10 years after the battle of Hogwarts, finding a world where Voldemort rules and his two best friends are on the run. Why does the Ministry think they are members of a thief gang alongside Draco Malfoy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I and II

**Part I**

The first thing Harry Potter saw after waking up was the ruins that used to be the front facade of the Hogwarts castle. He sat up where he was. His hands touched something cold on the ground: it was snow.

How in the hell could it be snowing in May?

He got up and decided to check his surroundings. They were empty; not a living soul was near and there was only a backpack beside him that definitely wasn't his. He reached to grab it when a weird sensation came over his body, an odd feeling like he was inside an astronaut suit, able to touch something but not really feel; but all he saw was his gloved hands. Then, he became aware of his clothes. They weren't the ones Hermione had picked for him after his visit to Gringotts. He was dressed in a heavy snow cloak that he'd never seen in his life. Forgetting his clothes for a moment, he returned his attention to the backpack.

He searched through it and found a few sheets of parchment, a few supplies, and a wand, but it wasn't his. The air was getting cooler and darker, the castle looked haunted, dark and uninviting and nothing of the castle he remembered.

Harry was getting impatient and his head hurt with too many questions. Where was he? Better yet, why was Hogwarts like this? Why was it snowing in May? Where was everyone? What happened to Voldemort?

His last memory was that he was dueling with Voldemort one moment and in the next, everything went black.

He decided to go to Hogsmeade, thinking the small village might have more answers than the ruins.

The journey from the castle to Hogsmeade was as different as the castle itself. No grass, no little animals. Even the Whomping Willow was missing. It was like a drought had hit the surroundings, leaving everything infertile and him wondering if he was dreaming.

His feeling of lack of control was not appeased by that thought.

He tried to make sense of what had happened between his blacking out during his duel and waking up on the grounds of a destroyed castle. It was strange and he couldn't quite accept that he had seemingly only closed his eyes for a moment, only to open them to desolation.

Thankfully, Hogsmeade wasn't as different as the last time he was there, with all the shops closed and the streets giving off a sense of abandonment…

"Pst… Mr. Zabini," he heard someone whisper.

Harry searched for the voice; he saw nothing, just the empty main street. Seconds later, a movement from the corner of Honeydukes caught his eye.

"Mr. Zabini! Over here!" An old lady, vaguely familiar, called to him.

"Zabini?" he said.

The old lady gave him a funny look and said, "Tall, dark skinned, and high cheek bones. Miss Granger told me about you."

Harry was taken aback. He didn't know what to say. Never in his life has he been mistaken for someone else. He hated The-Boy-Who-Lived stuff, but he was kind of hurt he was not recognized for who he was. How could she have mistaken him for Blaise Zabini?

He turned his face, deciding what to say, when he saw the reflection of his face in a window.

What. The. Hell.

The reflection didn't show a pale, raven-haired boy with glasses and a funny scar but a dark skinned man in a snow cloak. The old lady cleared her throat to catch his attention again, and instead of asking her anything, he acknowledged with a nod.

He needed her to trust him if he wanted answers.

"Come here, then." The woman said, giving him look full of mistrust, a different look than the one she gave him at first. He supposed he shouldn't have hesitated, but in his defence, it was quite a shock to discover he now sported Zabini's face.

He followed her into the alley next to the building. She gave him her back and walked into a small, old barn at the end of the passageway.

The woman quickened her pace and ran into the barn then immediately stepped inside; he followed suit. She gave him a relieved look and started searching for something in an old and dusted bookcase; Hermione would have reprimanded its owner over the state of these books. He chuckled, imagining her face and wondering where she was—and the Weasleys and everyone else, for that matter. He kept thinking about his friends and almost missed what the old lady was saying.

"… you have to understand, Mr. Zabini. In times like this, one can't be too careful. No one is who he says he is."

He didn't understand. "What?" he asked, confused.

The lady faced him and replied, "You know, the wards against the Ministry people and their lot."

"What?" he squawked. The woman pointed at his feet, where he saw odd-looking runes, and said, "The runes Miss Granger set up for our protection." She turned her back to him again and continued looking in the bookcase.

"You know where Hermione is?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course I don't!" she said. "She was here a few days ago. She said she won't be here until maybe after New Years."

"Do you know how to reach her?" He was getting desperate, but the woman seemed to not have heard his question.

"AHA!" She reached and dusted an old book. "Here it is! Take it. Maybe it can help with your problem. Professor Snape gave me all his books from the Hogwarts library ten years ago. But I can count with one hand how many times they've been used since. Miss Granger had this look like she swallowed something disgusting when she saw this bookcase, but what can I do? It would look suspicious if I had them clean and shiny when hardly anyone can read them."

His heart ached at the mention of Snape, the bravest and most misunderstood man he had ever known. He took the book and saw the title, "Healing the Dark, Book III: Blood Curses". Harry opened the book and saw only runes. Great, what in the hell would he do with a book he could not read?

"What do I do with this?" He said, frustrated, then added, "what problem?" He didn't hear her answer because something began to burn in his chest. He reached underneath his clothes and realized he was wearing two necklaces he hadn't seen before: one necklace had a silver ferret pedant that glowed and burned his fingers. Before he could inspect it further, the necklace shot a blinding light. Then, he disappeared.

**Part II**

After the nauseating and blinding feeling of Portkeying, the first thing Harry did even before opening his eyes was to search for his wand in his coat. Thank Merlin! He'd had the forethought of pulling his wand from his backpack into his pocket. It was always best to be prepared for anything.

He was in a fancy-looking living room, with a mahogany tea table, green, rich furniture, and large french windows with green drapes, but he couldn't see any picture or anything that might give away where he was. A room worthy of a wealthy Slytherin, he thought.

An uneasy feeling settled in his belly when he saw a large door open.

A ginger haired man entered the room and fixed his gaze on him. "Just in time, Zabini. Did you get the book? Hermione is getting on my nerves bitching about how she does not have enough research material. Why the hell didn't she take the bloody book when she was there?"

Perhaps Harry couldn't be one hundred percent sure of the looks, but he was sure about the voice. After seven years of hearing it constantly, how could he not?

He knew this man.

"Ron?"

The red haired man looked to be in his late-twenties or early-thirties, with a strong and large body—the body of a warrior, not a seventeen-year-old schoolboy.

"Yeah… did you get it?" Ron gave him the same look of mistrust the old woman gave him.

"Ron, it's me! Your best friend!"

"Zabini, no offence, but we're not at that level of trust with each other. You may be better that Nott, but we're not best friends. Besides, Malfoy gives the best Christmas presents, so …" He shrugged.

"Malfoy? ... NO! I'm not Zabini, I'm Harry Potter!" He prayed to whatever deity that Ron would believe that he really was Harry Potter.

"That's not funny, Zabini." Ron seemed to think he was an imposter altogether because he reached for his wand.

"I'm not joking, Ron! I'm not Zabini, I'm Harry! Ask me anything and let me prove it to you!"

"Harry has been dead for the last ten years, Zabini! This isn't funny anymore!" Ron snapped.

"Dead?" Harry squawked. "No! I'm not dead. I just woke up in front of Hogwarts and then Portkeyed here! I'll prove it!"

"Fine. I don't believe you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Tell me something that only Harry could've known." Ron said without lowering his wand.

"Um… all right, let me think…"

It seemed that he paused for too long because Ron looked ready to hex him. Harry quickly said, "YOU ONCE HAD A WET DREAM ABOUT FLEUR DELACOUR AFTER THE SECOND TASK DURING THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT IN FOURTH YEAR!"

Ron's face became as red as his hair before he reprimanded, "SHHHH! You prick! She can hear you. She's in the next room!" Then, his face went blank. "This doesn't prove anything. You could have used Legilimens," he added.

"You know I never figured out Legilimency or Occlumency. Use Veritaserum or something!" Harry hoped that there was a way to prove the truth.

"If you're willing to any means, then I'm taking you to Malfoy." Ron taunted.

"Malfoy… Why?" Why on earth would Ron trust anything to Draco Malfoy, pure-blood supremacist and general git?

Ron sensed his apprehension and said, "He's the closest we have to a Potions Master in the house, and I trust him."

"Why?" Harry asked again.

"Malfoy is one of the leaders…" Ron replied. Harry was speechless, although there were a million of questions bursting in his mind. Ron shut him up with something close to a evil grin, adding "… and Hermione's husband."

**…**

Harry Potter felt that his brain had melted to goo, so much had happened since he woke up. How much time had actually passed while he was unconscious? But what kept bothering him the whole time he was being moved at wandpoint were the same recurring thoughts. Hermione was married to Malfoy? He had been dead for ten years? He was Blaise Zabini?

Down the hallway they traversed, an endless number of green tapestries hung on the walls. Harry suspected that all the paintings had been taken down a long time ago, and during their removal, some had put a fight. The y stopped in front of tall oak doors at the end of the hall.

Ron knocked three times before he opened the door. He stepped inside, urging Harry to follow. Harry was greeted by a chamber full of books; there was no wall without a packed bookcase. He saw that there were no windows in the room, only one skylight under which was a grand desk with a blond man behind it.

"What do you want, Weasley? Is dinner ready?" The blond man asked without lifting his head from the long parchment he was reading.

"I need your assistance, Malfoy." Ron requested.

At this, Malfoy lifted his head.

Now, Harry could see the changes in Malfoy. He wasn't as large as Ron, but he wasn't thin, either. He had his long, white-blond hair in a ponytail, making him look like a young version of Lucius Malfoy.

"What is it?" He said, fixing his gaze on Harry.

"Zabini says he's Harry Potter. I asked him something that only Harry could know and he answered correctly. But I'm not completely convinced. I don't know who this man is, but he's certainly not Zabini." Ron kept his gaze fixed on the former Slytherin, daring him to laugh.

Malfoy didn't but replied, "And what did he reply, if may I ask? The number of wet dreams you had starring Madame Rosmerta?"

"This is serious, Malfoy!" Ron pulled out his wand.

Malfoy seemed to sense finally how tense the red-haired man truly was. "What do you want me to do, Weasley?"

"Veritaserum and Legilimency," Ron replied.

"All right, but for this case, it would be better with my own truth serum, I think." Malfoy pulled out a tiny green bottle from a drawer of his desk and stood, walking towards Harry. Ron ordered Harry to sit, after summoning a chair, and to take the bottle from Malfoy.

"Cheers," Harry said before drinking the acidic liquid. He felt as if he'd just sucked a sour lemon. The liquid impregnated his throat and a rush of heat went to his brain. This feeling, added to the anxious feeling in his stomach, did nothing to help his nervousness.

Ron checked Harry's eyes, noting his dilated pupils, and began with the interrogation.

"What's your name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"What day is it today?"

"Before I woke up, it was May 2, 1998. But you claim that ten years have passed since I woke up, so I don't know the answer to that question."

At this, Ron stared pointedly at Draco. He continued the interrogation.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Casting a spell against Vol—"—Ron quickly shushed him, although he motioned for him to continue—"… the Dark Lord. Then, everything went black."

The interrogation went on after that, with questions like, "Who were your parents?" "What was the last thing Dumbledore said to you?" and other questions about his childhood. Afterwards, the Slytherin used Legilimency on him and confirmed his answers.

"This is weird. He has Potter's memories. It has been more than two hours, so he isn't Polyjuiced, making this is Zabini's body…" Malfoy was interrupted when Ron hugged Harry like the lost friend he was.

"Harry! It really is you! I've missed you so much!" The Gryffindor cried.

"Ron, I've missed you, too, but to me, it seems I just saw you in the Great Hall not long ago." Harry responded, fighting the urge to cry.

"How cozy, The Golden Trio reunited. Well, almost. Just add Hermione and the picture is complete. I always knew you had a thing for Potter, Weasley." Draco sneered without malice.

"Shut it," Ron responded without letting go of Harry. "How did you come back? It's been so long."

"Yeah Potter, all that bullshit about The-Boy-Who-Lived ended up being true after all. How did you do it?"

The three men were interrupted by a knock. The door opened, revealing a brown-haired witch.

"Draco, it's time for dinner... Oh Ron! Blaise! Dinner is ready. Blaise, did Mrs. Figg give you the book?"

"Hermione! This is not Zabini! This is Harry! We already interrogated him and confirmed it!" Ron's face was as bright as a kid inside a toy store.

"That's not funny, Ron!" Hermione chided the man.

"It's true, love." Draco said to Hermione.

"Harry? How?" Hermione must have really trusted Malfoy because she ran to hug Harry. She kept saying his name but couldn't help asking him the same questions as Ron.

"This would be better with some food, don't you think? Or better yet, Firewhiskey." Malfoy said, but everyone ignored him.

Hermione, still hugging Harry, responded, "Oh yes, you must be starving Harry! Come on!"

With all that had happened, Harry hadn't had time to think about food, but now he realized he was starving. He couldn't recall the last time that he ate, so the sound of food was appealing. The four walked along the same hallway that Harry and Ron had just traversed. Ron keep hugging him with one arm. Hermione was doing the same until Malfoy put his arm around her shoulders, nudging her to walk ahead of them.

With this arrangement, Harry was able to observe Hermione and the changes in her. Her hair wasn't curly any longer; she had pixie cut. It didn't make her ugly _per se_... just different; she was rather pretty… and she was a woman now. That was the most radical change; she was still petite but with curves in the right places.

He became embarrassed thinking about his best friend's body but couldn't stop looking her. Malfoy lowered his arm to her waist and Harry suddenly remembered they were married.

"Is it true you two are married?" To Harry it was impossible, but he couldn't deny what his eyes were seeing.

Hermione turned to look at him and said, "Yes, Draco and I have been married the last five years."


	2. Part III

** Part III **

Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Harry reached the largest door at the other end of the hallway. Draco opened it, revealing a huge dining room where an older version of Fleur Delacour was now was serving food, with the help of a blonde-haired girl.

"Ron! Blaise! Dinner is ready. Take off your cloak and wash your hands." Fleur said as she put a piece of beef on the last plate. "Hermione, have you been able to communicate with Romania? How are Charlie and Teddy?"

"Yes, I have! Charlie said he was coming and Teddy, too. He'll be good company for Victoire." Hermione said, winking at the blushing girl.

When the four of them were seated around the table, Ron announced, "Fleur, this is not Zabini!" At Fleur's odd look, he elaborated, "Well, he is, physically, but he's got Harry's mind or something. Malfoy and I verified."

"Harry Potter?" whispered a shocked Fleur. "You're sure? How?"

"I don't know, and I need answers, all of this is confusing." Harry replied before Ron or Malfoy could do so. "Tell me, what day is it? What happened after the battle of Hogwarts? Why did you marry Malfoy, Hermione?"

At his last question, Hermione blushed but answered, "First, today is December 23rd. Second, after the battle of Hogwarts, all the people on our side fledthe castle; Ron and I were on the run again. People from the Ministry—the Death Eaters had taken control, remember—started to incarcerate innocent people, mostly Muggle-borns but pretty much everyone who was against the Dark Lord. And third... why do you think people marry? I love him." After Hermione's answer, Malfoy shot Harry a smug look.

"What happened to me? People keep saying I'm dead but I'm not."

Hermione was about to answer Harry when Ron replied first. "Well, after you casted your spell against You-Know-Who, there was a battle of power between you. You seemed more powerful than him, but a light sort of reached you, and then, both of your spells attacked You-Know-Who. You collapsed, and when you stood up, your eyes were different. They were red and your face became paler. It looked like you'd turned into the Dark Lord. And then you shouted, 'I have defeated your saviour. Now, I own you.' The Death Eaters were given green light to kill, everything turned into hell, I reached for Hermione and Apparated away."

Harry's hands were cold after Ron's answer. He didn't say anything until all of them finished eating. Draco disappeared the dishes and fixed his gaze on Harry.

Harry didn't know what to say, so he asked the first thing that came to mind. "And who is this?" He smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way to the little blonde girl.

"I'm Victoire Weasley." the girl said.

"She's my daughter... and Bill's," Fleur said with tears in her eyes.

"Tell me everything that has happened since... my death." Mentioning his "death" was hard, as was the realization that he was missing a significant amount of information about the lives of his loved ones since said "death".

Hermione took Malfoy's hand and began her story. "After the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and I were on the run again, like he said. Death Eaters, Ministry people, and Snatchers were searching for us. We couldn't stay in one place for too long, and we only had my purse with the tent; we didn't have food or a safe form of communication with anybody. We lived in the woods for a while and didn't know what to do. Getting out of England was out of the question. You-Know-Who had set up wards to prevent people leaving.

"The Order of the Phoenix Was disbanded and everyone was on their own. One time, we were so hungry that I decided to steal bread from a bakery. The owner was about to catch me but Draco helped me. After six months of being on the run, his was the first familiar face I'd seen, even if it wasn't a friendly one.

"At first, I thought he was going to give me away to the Death Eaters, but he just ordered me—because Malfoys don't ask—to share the bread. I saw he was as hungry as I was, so I did.

"He told me how he'd fled the castle with his mother and how the Death Eaters caught them not long after that. They killed his mother…" Hermione's voice broke and her eyes watered. She looked at Malfoy, who stared stoned-face at Harry, daring him to mock. Not receiving any taunt or ridicule, Malfoy squeezed Hermione's hand, urging her to continue speaking.

"Draco thankfully could escape with just a beating and wandered alone until he found me. I took him where the tent was and explained the situation to Ron. Draco used your old bed and hid with us. We'd become fed up with starving and sleeping on uncomfortable beds when Draco suddenly remembered the old ring of his grandfather. The ring could let him safely access his family's wealth and one of the old Malfoy houses.

"The only problem was that the ring was kept in a safe place in Malfoy Manor, and the manor was full of the Dark Lord's followers."

Harry was becoming confused. "What about Lucius?" he asked.

This time, it was Draco who responded. "He remained a damn Death Eater and handed the manor over to them. The damn Dark Lord, in return, forgave him for his past failures. I knew I could go after Grandfather Abraxas' ring without seeing him at the manor, and good thing because, Merlin help me, I would kill him on sight."

"Didn't Lucius know about the ring? I mean stealing something like that would go unnoticed." Harry asked.

"That the thing Potter ,just Lucius would know about it but it isn't his place to say anything. He's just a bit more than a snatcher to You-Know-Who's eyes. The public image the press gave us after that stunt were as thieves, we let them believe we wanted to steal Death Eater plans to disguise our true intentions, no self-respecting Death Eater would believe a word a lowly man - like Lucius- had to day."

"We eventually settled in a Malfoy house in Liverpool. We could buy food and sleep in a good bed. That's when we saw a copy of the  _Daily Prophet_ , which mentioned our trip to the manor and that the Ministry wanted information and would give a reward of one hundred galleons.

"Shifting houses, we became aware the fate of our friends. Neville was caught and murdered as the same as...Seamus Finnigan, McGonagall, Hagrid, Michael Corner, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Millicent Bullstrode, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Justin Finch-Fletchey and many others, there's no neutralitly for anyone." The witch's voice broke again at mentioning the list and Harry wondered who else died.

"What happened to your family, Ron?" Harry asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

At this, Fleur whispered "excuse me" and fled from the dining room with her daughter. Harry dreaded that something had happened to Bill.

"Well, when You-Know-Who took over the Ministry, it wasn't just a Muggle-born extermination that he decreed; it was pretty much anyone who was against him. It didn't matter if he or she was pure-blood, half-blood, or Muggle-born. So, the Death Eaters went after all of my family.

"Mum and Dad Apparated to Andromeda's, and bringing Teddy, all three of them Apparated to Romania to find Charlie. Bill and George took Ginny and Fleur to Shell Cottage. Percy was killed by a Ministry worker, the irony." Ron responded.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry was feeling hopeful about the safety of her girlfriend. Ron's face turned sad as he answered. "A few months after the battle, Bill was to move a pregnant Fleur, George, and Ginny to Romania, but the Death Eaters caught them and killed Bill and Ginny. That's when we realized that the Ministry wasn't letting people leave England. Fleur could escape with George and the two of them hide themselves for a while in Aunt Muriel's."

Harry couldn't believe it; his surrogate family was almost all dead. He wanted to cry, to break something, to shout until his lungs gave up, but all he could do was to stay frozen in his chair.

If he thought that the entire situation was a nightmare, and he wanted to wake up soon. His world was crashing down on him and he couldn't hold it together, not anymore.

Hermione saw the pain in his face and suggested they stop the conversation. She offered Harry a room to sleep in so as to digest all they told him. Harry refused, wanting to get the story over with and to vent his anger, somehow, later.

He insisted that they continue but both Ron and Hermione were reluctant.

Malfoy thought it was his turn to speak. "A year and a half after the battle of Hogwarts, we were changing locations when we found Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott alone in a forest. They were on the run, too, and without money and food.

They were in the same situation I had been, so we decided to help them. Stealing Nott's family ring was easy. Nott Manor was deserted. But we were caught escaping Pansy's family home. The five of us were brought to the Ministry. Luckily, with the help of a Ministry worker, a friend of Weasley's father, we escaped, but we were publicly branded thieves.

"Rita Skeeter glamourized and romanticized the facts. The papers stopped saying that a gang of teenagers were breaking into the manors; instead, she wrote that Malfoy and Granger were in it together—'was this love or a business transaction?' She loved to hint that Hermione tricked me into stealing from rich people for our secret wedding." The blond burst into laughter and Hermione and Ron joined in; Harry just smiled.

"The thing is, every time we were about to get caught, there was always a journalist writing about the grand thefts perpetrated by Malfoy and Granger and their gang—"

"Granger and Malfoy," Hermione interrupted.

"Same thing," Draco glared.

"Why were Parkinson and Nott in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked.

Hermione replied. "You-Know-Who wants to control everything. A lot of people on both sides died in the war. Pure-blood women were to marry Death Eaters. The Greengrass matriarch refused that fate for her daughters and left her husband; the three of them were killed.

"Pansy, as she so eloquently puts it, refused 'to be the wife of an old perv and bear his children', so she fled with Theo, who had been disinherited by his family after being bitten by a werewolf and tainting his family's purity. As a son of a Death Eater, he knew how to evade them, they managed to survive in the forest until we found them. They were Draco's friends; we couldn't just ignore their situation. Ron and I agreed to travel with them.

"Living with three former Slytherins stopped us from hiding in simple places. The places we found were always fancy-looking. They weren't bad, but I felt terrible having such riches when people in similar situations were starving. I made sure we started helping them in any way possible.

"By the time we started reaching out, we encountered Blaise and Terry Boot. They joined us as well. We became too large a group to stay together, so we decided to split up. We used the 'Granger and Malfoy Gang' publicity to distract the public from the other groups trying to survive.

"I stayed with Draco while Ron became the leader of the second 'gang'. That's when we created the new order to replace the Order of the Phoenix." Hermione paused and started giggling. "We became The Orders of the Ferret and of the Weasel. With a name so ridiculous, who would take us seriously? The names could disguise us as silly rumours.

"The Ferret group is composed of Draco and me, Blaise, Pansy, Padma and Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas, Anthony Goldstein, Marcus Flint, and about other ten people you might not know. The Weasel group is composed of Ron, Theodore and Lavender Nott, Terry Boot and his older brother Paul, Fleur and Victoire, Tracey Davis, Adrian Pucey, Luna Lovegood, and about five others."

"So, that's what this necklace means." Harry wondered out loud, pulling at the ferret pendant around his neck.

"Yes, I made them," the ex-curly-haired witch said, pulling out her own necklace. "They deliver messages like our old DA Galleons, and they are special because you can charm them as programmable Portkeys when you have to leave any place quickly."

Still touching the ferret pedant, Harry suddenly remembered the presence of the second necklace. It was a simple length of lace with the pedant of a wolf fang. He wanted to pull it out when he felt light-headed, that feeling of surrealism returning even stronger. He felt as if he was underwater. He let go of the necklace for further inspection later on.

That's when it hit him. He had accidentally created a Horcrux when he had almost defeated Voldemort. Somehow, Voldemort had avoided the spells being cast toward him by taking possession of Harry's body before his own collapsed under the spells, thus expelling Harry's soul, which landed in the necklace. Ten years later, Zabini must have found the necklace and decided to wear it, inadvertently letting Harry possess his body. Harry told his theory to Hermione, Ron, and Malfoy.

"Stranger things have happened," Draco agreed.

Harry´s head started spinning after receiving affirmation of his idea and asked for a place to rest. Hermione took him to a nice bedroom and tuck him into bed saying, "Rest Harry, but we need to discuss things later. The fact that you're here changes our plans, and I know you want to have a say in this."

After Hermione left, Harry cried to sleep, mourning his lost life and love.

**...**

At the same time that Harry fell asleep in his bed, Ron went to his own room after saying his good-nights. Leaving Draco and Hermione in the sitting room. They went to their room, Draco resting in bed and Hermione changing out of her clothes and into her pajamas.

"How does Potter change the plans?" Draco asked.

"I don't know exactly, but he does and I hope for the best," she responded as she approached the bed, sitting next to him. Draco reached for her and held her while stroking her hair.

There was a lot to think about, but Draco left the thinking to his wife and began to kiss her lips. That night, like every night since their marriage, they kissed until they fell asleep.


	3. Part IV

** Part IV **

At 2:00 A.M, Hermione Granger was still awake; she couldn't sleep, her head was plagued with worry. It was uncommon for her to feel such loss of control and, even more, to not know what to do. She was glad Harry had survived even if it was in Horcrux form, but how did he fit in their lives again?

She didn't miss the contemptuous look he gave her when she told him she was married to Draco. Even Ron hadn't put up a fight when Draco and she became a couple. Harry didn't know what kind of things she had to live through to be where she was, but he was her best friend, so she really cared about his opinion.

When Hermione finally could relax enough to fall asleep, her dreams were all flashes of memories from the past ten years.

**...**

_It had been six months since the battle of Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron were without food again, and this time, they couldn't ignore the hunger. It had been days since the last time they ate something satisfying. Ron was trying to find fruits or something edible in the woods, but Hermione doubted that he would find anything._

_She was fed up with waiting for him and headed to a small village at the end of the forest. She didn't bother to put a glamour on herself; this was a really small Muggle town, nobody would know her._

_The smell of warm bread filled her nostrils. She could eat a Hippogriff, but a piece of bread in her stomach would be just as perfect. She didn't have any money, but in extreme case like this, she didn't mind stealing. Besides, the bread wouldn't be just for her but for Ron as well._

_She entered the bakery, and there was no one at the front! She couldn't believe her luck and transfigured a cup nearby into a big bag. She was careful to take the bread in a way that made it seem like none was missing. She was so concentrated on filling the bag that she didn't realize until it was too late that the owner was about to catch her red-handed._

_Luckily, someone from the back of the bakery called to the baker, which gave her the perfect chance to escape._

_She ran until she reached the forest, and she was on her way to the tent when a hand grabbed her and pulled her behind a tree._

_"Stealing, huh?" a very familiar face said._

_"Malfoy!" she nearly screamed._

_"The least you could do is share Granger. After all, I helped you by distracting the baker."_

_Hermione had been ready to hex him, but she saw the dark circles under his eyes. His nose had a funny look, like he had broken it but couldn't properly heal it. He was awfully thin._

_The least she could do was share._

**...**

_"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU? I'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU! I THOUGHT THE SNATCHERS CAUGHT YOU!" Ron screamed at her._

_Ron hadn't seen Malfoy, so he continued yelling until she responded, "CALM DOWN, FOR FUCK'S SAKE! I WENT TO THE VILLAGE TO TRY AND FIND SOMETHING TO EAT! LOOK, I BROUGHT BREAD!"_

_"Oh I didn't know you could swear. Impressive, Granger."_

_Ron became aware of the presence of the Slytherin now but didn't stop yelling. This time, he directed his anger toward said Slytherin. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, MALFOY? TRYING TO TAKE US TO THE DEATH EATERS!"_

_"NO! Ron, he helped me with the food. He's in our situation, too!" Hermione spent a good hour trying to convince Ron into agreeing to let Malfoy travel with them, and thankfully Malfoy let her be the only one talking; Ron reluctantly agreed in the end._

**_..._ **

_"WHERE'S HERMIONE?" Ron yelled to Draco when they were running to the main door of Malfoy Manor. They were being chased by two Death Eaters after retrieving Abraxas Malfoy's ring. After a turn on the second floor near Lucius' study, they had lost her._

_"THE LAST I SAW HER WAS NEAR THE STUDY!" Draco responded, hoping, for the life of him, she hadn't been caught. They headed back there after Stunning their chasers and found her hexing Antonin Dolohov._

_"_ Stupefy! _" she said, and the Death Eater fell to the floor, unconscious. "Did you get the ring?" she asked, reading the parchment on the desk._

_"Yes, what are you doing?" Ron asked._

_"Steal this to distract them from the ring; we need to make a duplicate! Give me the ring!" Draco gave it to her and she casted a_ Geminio _._

**_..._ **

_Draco, Ron, and Hermione entered a big house in Liverpool. It wasn't a manor per se but big enough for a family of ten._

_"We need to eat, but first, a bath. No wait, first you lot have to help me take down the paintings—burn them if they put up a fight. Then, we eat and grab a good night's sleep." Draco said, walking to sit in an armchair beside a window._

_"Speak for yourself. I'm hungry," Ron growled._

_"Very well, then. Let me find money so YOU can go buy something," Draco replied._

_"What happened to your hair, Hermione?" Ron asked, seeing the witch for the first time since the trip to Malfoy Manor._

_Hermione's curly hair was bushier than ever, like she ripped it off with her hands, and a good part of it was burned. "Dolohov grabbed me by my hair and dragged me to Lucius' study. I hit him in the groin, he let me go, and we dueled before you appeared," she shrugged._

_"Here's the money, Weasley. Buy something good and be careful. We can't lose that amount of money this time." Draco appeared with a sack full of coins, which he handed to Ron._

_When Ron left, Hermione said, "I'll go find a bathroom."_

_"Yeah, you do that. You look like shit, Granger." He mocked at her._

_Hermione didn't dignify his words with a response; she headed to the nearest bathroom and filled the tub with warm water. She bathed until her toes were wrinkled. She hadn't felt that relaxed in ages._

_When she left the bathroom, her hair wasn't curly anymore—she had chopped of the rest of it—a boyish kind of cut. Reaching the sitting room, she found Draco resting in the same armchair. It seemed he took a bath, too, though because his hair was wet._

_He saw her without her characteristic hair and all he could say was, "Better."_

**_..._ **

_It was a cold November night and the new gang was in bed in one of the Malfoy houses; this time, in Yorkshire. Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott had joined Ron, Draco, and Hermione, and they had collectively become the highly-publicized Granger-Malfoy Thieving Gang._

_Everyone was sitting in the manor's study near the fireplace, trying to make sense of something from Lee Jordan on the old radio._

_"Rumour has it Granger and Malfoy helped your village with its last debt to the Ministry," a man said._

_"All I can say is: they did right by me. And I'm bringin' me an' a mess of flowers to their funeral." Lee responded._

_It has been almost two years of being on the run. Hermione couldn't believe that much time had passed and how things had changed. She was a thief, a highly rewarded thief alongside Draco Malfoy. At first, both of them just laughed at Rita Skeeter's articles about their clandestine love, but deep down inside of her, they had made her think_  " _what if?"_

_She wasn't with Ron in a romantic sense; they got over it in the first days after Harry's death. Hunger and lack of sleep were sufficient to stop a blossoming relationship._

_She said goodnight to everyone and left for her room. She convinced herself that she didn't need that kind of affection, but she secretly craved it._

**_..._ **

_The first time Draco and Hermione kissed was on the last day of their stay in Yorkshire._

_Draco was packing the little he owned in a charmed bag. Hermione knocked and opened the door. Without lifting his gaze to her he said, "What's the point of knocking on the door if you don't wait for me to say 'enter' or 'go away'? It's annoying."_

_"Because it annoys you," she responded._

_"You're a smart one, huh." When Draco lifted his head, he saw her tear-stained face. He felt uneasy. Why did he feel the need to right everything that was wrong in the world at the sight of Hermione Granger, the most tenacious girl he knew, crying?_

_"The Weaslette, right?"_

_Hermione said nothing._

_"How is Ron?" Draco sat next to her, lifting her chin to see her face._

_"He's devastated. He's lost his only sister and his oldest brother! He locked himself in his bedroom, and I don't know what to do to help him." She started to cry again._

_"He just needs time to be alone, to mourn alone, and to blame the right people. Hearing the news from the old radio is fucked up, but he's not the only one who needs comfort, you know. I remember Ginny was your friend, too."_

_Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and kept crying until there was were no tears left._

_"Thanks for being with me, Malfoy," she said, moving away from him to see his eyes._

_"Draco," he said, bringing his face nearer to hers._

_"Draco," she whispered, capturing his lips with hers in the sweetest kiss she ever had._

**_..._ **

_The gang took Terry and Paul Boot under their care, making the group too large to travel together in secret. Their safety was at risk, but they could not leave anybody behind. Now, all the men were "discussing" the pros and cons of splitting the group._

_Pansy and Hermione rolled their eyes at such a "manly" way to discuss things._

_"We're too many to still travel together, Weasley." Draco argued._

_"But how can we decide who goes with whom? Nobody would want to travel with you and your snoring. But it wouldn't be kind to leave you alone." Ron shot back._

_"I'm touched by such a display of kindness. I always knew that deep down you had feelings for me." Draco sneered._

_"For fuck's sake! Raise your hand if you want to travel with Malfoy and be done with it!" Blaise shouted._

_"Hey! Why me?" Draco protested._

_"It's clear you're a leader, we split into two groups. The other lucky leader is clearly Weasley, so let's be done and let everyone decide where to go," Paul Boot said, annoyed._

_Hermione was torn with the decision of which group to pick. Ron was her best friend, but she clearly had feelings for Malfoy, and she knew he had feelings for her, too._

_Ron decided for her. "If we are to split, you should keep travelling with Malfoy, Hermione. Your love story is the perfect disguise for my group. We can accomplish more if you're with Malfoy."_

_Draco nodded, trying to hide a smile and failing miserably._

**_..._ **

_"Distribute this money to the right people, Zabini, and tell Thomas to help Pansy with the food," Draco instructed. Then, he asked. "Have you seen Granger?"_

_"She was with Flint and a Patil twin, setting wards against unwanted people," Blaise responded, counting the money and planning how to distribute it._

_The Ferret Gang were in Glasglow helping a caravan of half-bloods and Muggle-borns who were wanted by the Ministry. Blaise spotted them while they were heading to Edinburgh to stay in a Zabini house._

_Draco was going to search for Hermione when he heard an explosion. All the people around him were frantic and began Disapparating. They had an emergency meeting point for such cases, but he wanted to find Hermione before leaving. Unfortunately, he couldn't find her and was finally forced to Apparate to the meeting point. She wasn't there._

_He waited for two hours all the while wanting to punch somebody. His guts were twisted at the thought that something bad had happened to Hermione. Finally, he spotted a dark-haired man carrying a long-haired girl who was definitely not Hermione._

_"FLINT! Where's Hermione?" Draco nearly screamed at him._

_Marcus Flint turned his head, puzzled. He babbled in a panic. "She was behind me! We were... ambushed. We fought... Death Eaters hexed Padma. I don't know where Granger is! She escaped with us—"_

_The blond man was about to skin Flint alive when the sound of Apparition filled the air. Hermione Granger arrived at the meeting point with only a few cuts and bruises; she was unharmed otherwise._

_That night, after a shouting match between Draco and Hermione about the importance of safety, Draco wouldn't let her go from his sight and decided to sleep next to her in his bed. To save space of course._

_That night, Hermione Granger lost her virginity to Draco Malfoy._

**...**

_"At least! Take some." Draco instructed._

_"Just one question!" Hermione ordered._

_Hermione eyed the little bottle uncertainly but decided to help Draco test it. She swallowed the liquid, grimacing at the sensation of it working._

_"All right: pupils dilated, normal blood pressure. How do you feel, Granger?" he asked._

_"Like all my deepest secrets want to get out of my head through my nose," she said._

_"What is your deepest secret, Hermione?" Draco smirked at her scared face._

_"I h-h-have s-strong feelings for y-y-you," she said without meeting his eyes._

_"Take this," he ordered, giving her another bottle._

_She swallowed it fast, in case he wanted to ask another embarrassing question. "This potion is as good as Legilimens. You're good."_

_"I'm not good, I'm the best." Draco said._

_"And modest too."_

_"But I need another test subject." he frowned._

_"Why?" she asked._

_"I already knew your secret."_

**...**

_"You know this is dangerous?" he asked._

_"No more than having sex while floating in the air," she retorted._

_"You should stay with Fleur. You like Fleur," he negotiated._

_"Why are you trying to change my mind? I'm going. End of discussion."_

_"Shit, Granger, this is dangerous! It's Montague Manor, after all." He passed a hand through his hair._

_"I've faced the worst Death Eaters, so stealing gold from the Montague should be easy. We're a team." She caressed his cheek._

_"Together?" he asked._

_"Together," she agreed._

**...**

_"How does it feel being pregnant?" Hermione asked to a huge Pansy Parkinson._

_"I dunno; weird sometimes. I have a living human being inside of me. I forget that I'm pregnant, but then she moves and I feel like crying." At Hermione's incredulous face, Pansy added," A good type of crying."_

_Both witches laughed._

_"How is Dean taking fatherhood?" Hermione wondered._

_"He does have another option than to stick around, even in our circumstances. He's excited about a child, a girl," Pansy said with a glowing face._

_Looking at a spark on Hermione's left hand, Pansy smiled. "So... Draco located his bollocks and asked you to marry him?"_

_"Yes." Hermione blushed._

_"Do you love him?" Pansy inquired._

_"Very much." the short-haired girl said, knowing that Draco felt the same about her._

**...**

_After a Bonding ceremony in the Zabini house in Bristol, Draco and Hermione had a small wedding dinner made by all the women of their gang._

_It wasn't the wedding she had dreamt when she was little, but not having a Disney ceremony didn't mean she wasn't happy. After twenty-three years of being Hermione Granger, she was now Hermione Malfoy, and she couldn't have been happier._

_Hermione really couldn't believe that she was now a married woman, suddenly she felt overwhelmed, she excused herself and headed to the bathroom. After the trip to the bathroom, and ten tiny breaths she decided to be with her friends for a bit before going to bed with her husband._

_In the halfway to the living room, she saw the library's door slightly open and decided to close it. Reaching the chamber, she could hear two men voices whispering._

_"Now she's your responsibility, Malfoy. Take care of her—she's my sister." She heard Ron say. After Ginny's death, he became more protective of Hermione and she knew that Draco knew how much having a sister meant to him._

_"Don't worry Ron, I'll take care of her. She's my only family, too." She heard a sound like they were hugging. She didn't want to disturb them._

_On her way to her other friends, she thought that marrying Draco Malfoy was the best thing she could ever do._

**_..._ **

_She casted the spell again. She couldn't have the wrong answer; she needed to confirm what she knew was true._

_Waiting for the results, she recalled what Draco told her the night Pansy gave birth._

_Pansy had been asleep in the bed, exhausted after twelve hours of labour. Hermione had been holding her new goddaughter, a tiny, raven-haired girl, identical to her mother._

_Draco and she were engaged. They enjoyed sex and being together, holding each other and ignoring the rest of the world. But they had never discussed having children. Holding tiny Hazel, she had felt that she wouldn't mind having a kid herself._

_Draco had entered the room and had seen his fiancée holding her goddaughter and the mother of the baby heavily asleep. He said, "Thomas is asleep, too. I swear to Merlin I thought the man was going to kill himself with worry."_

_"All the new fathers are like that. This is their first child, after all." Hermione gathered all her Gryffindor courage and asked, "Would you like have children in the future?"_

_Draco had been taken aback with the witch's question but had responded with all sincerity, "I wouldn't mind having kids, but I don't want them right now or in a near future. Being chased around England is not the life I would like my kids to have."_

_A blue glow in her belly distracted her from her memories. She tried to recall the meaning... Yes, blue meant pregnancy._

**_..._ **

The morning after Harry's arrival, Hermione decided that she could live without her best friend's acceptance of her marriage and life decisions because she would die without Draco Malfoy. Somehow, that decision was not as comforting as she thought.


	4. Part V

**Part V**

Harry woke up to the smell of a full English breakfast. It seemed like he hadn't eaten in a long time, despite the fact he'd had dinner the previous night.

He headed to the dining room and found Ron talking with little Victorie.

"Hey, guess I can't ask you why Zabini was so eager to retrieve Hermione's book. You know, it seems surreal the fact that you're not Zabini." Ron said.

Fleur approached the table, ready to serve breakfast.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My brain hasn't gotten used to this body and the fact that you're an almost thirty year-old man."

Ron burst laughing at his response.

"Don't we have to wait for Aunt 'Mione and Uncle Draco before eating breakfast?" Victoire asked.

"No princess, Aunt 'Mione and Uncle Draco like to wake up late," Ron responded with a mischievous grin.

"Ugh, I don't want to have that mental image, Ron," Harry said disgusted.

"Suck it Potter. She's my wife now," a blonde man man responded, entering the room. Draco sat next to Victoire and offered good mornings to everyone.

"Where's 'Mione?" Ron babbled while chewing a piece of bread.

"Upstairs. She woke up a bit sick and ran to the bathroom. When I checked her, she was vomiting; she locked the door, didn't want me to see her." Draco shrugged. Women.

Fleur shot an incredulous look to Draco. "Men," she said under her breath. She shook her head, announcing, "I'll go see her."

Fleur left the room. Victoire finished breakfast and excused herself to be company for her mother and aunt.

Harry asked, "Where is everyone? Shouldn't the rest of the 'group' be here?"

"No, tomorrow is Christmas. Everyone in Malfoy's 'group' wanted to visit friends in other safe houses, but both groups will be here tonight," Ron answered.

Harry didn't respond, uneasy about the prospect of seeing former classmates—it would remind him of everything he had been missing all this time. He just wanted to try and fix things as quietly as possible.

He knew that Harry Potter's miraculously appearance could cause a riot.

"You're not the axis of everyone's existence, Potter." Draco shot the former dark-haired Gryffindor his most arrogant look. "There's a meeting programmed for both groups. Rumour has it that the Ministry is after all of us and have a plan to hunt us down. We have our counterattack already scheduled; we won't let those bastards get us. Ah, and we'll need to discuss your presence... if we have the time."

"Why would Hermione marry you?" Harry said, his voice full of disdain.

"Easy," Draco replied with his trademark smirk. "She loves my c—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll hex you, you ferret!" An angry Hermione appeared with Fleur behind.

"…Courage." Draco said hastily and heard Weasley snickering. "Better, love?" he added

At her husband's endearment, Hermione's face softened.

"Draco Malfoy and the wonders of being a submissive husband." Ron Weasley laughed.

Draco laughed, too, replying, "Yeah, she can beat the shit out of anyone. The least I can do is be in her good graces; I'm a Slytherin, after all."

**...**

After breakfast, the girls began preparing Christmas dinner. Draco and Ron helped decorate the living room.

Harry tried to make sense of this bizarre picture.

He wasn't in the mood to celebrate something as mundane as Christmas, not after what they had told him about what had been happening for the last ten years.

Lost in his thoughts was how Hermione found him by midday. "Why the long face?" she inquired.

"I've missed so much. People who died, people who are dying, suffering…" He looked into her eyes, continuing, "You've all suffered, and I keep thinking it's my fault."

"For the love of Merlin! I never thought I would miss your martyrish attitude!" Hermione giggled. "It's not your fault, you know. Nobody blames you; everyone blames You-Know-Who.

"Yes we've suffered, and we haven't forgotten about that, but we fight. All of us want a better world. I always wondered how this would be different if You-Know-Who had died in the battle." She mused. "Probably I would be married to Ron by now." She laughed once more. "That would have been nice... but I love Draco. When I imagine a free world, I imagine it with him by my side." She looked him in the eye. "I saw your contempt yesterday. I want you to understand my feelings for him. He's my equal. He challenges me. He doesn't back down in a fight. He defends what he loves and believes. He doesn't indulge me; he corrects me when I'm wrong. At the end of the day... he makes me a better person, and I make him better, too. That's love for me."

His best friend was now crying, making him feel guilty.

"You haven't changed in ten years; you're still the same, strong girl who fights for what she loves, the friend I love. You're the same person I've known for seven years. Maybe your body and your face are different but not _you._ " He meant it.

"Oh, Mister Potter has been ogling me; don't let my husband catch you. Once, he hexed Adrian Pucey for watching me a second too long." She dried her tears and laughed.

He laughed too, missing times like this when he could have a laugh with his friend. "What about Ron?" he asked her.

"He was briefly involved with Gabrielle Delacour; she was here fighting ten years ago. She could escape to France, so she exchanged letters with Fleur and then with Ron. They had this long-distance relationship until her parents made her stop. They didn't want her to become close to an English man, and a wanted one by the Ministry, besides. Now, they secretly owl each other from month to month." Hermione's face turned sad. "I guess he hasn't found  _The One_."

"How can you even think about these sorts of things in times like this?"

Looking him with a solemn face, Hermione retorted, "It's been hard, Harry. We can't constantly dwell on the suffering and unfairness of it all. We moved on. We enjoy the little things. We want a better future—if not for us, then for the children."

"I want to make things right," he announced after a while.

"How?" she asked.

"Everything went to shit the day of the Battle of Hogwarts. Somehow, I wasn't quick enough or strong enough to defeat him, giving him the opportunity to possess my body and reduce me to a Horcrux." Harry told her.

"So... you're saying that if you had been strong or quick enough that day, none of this would have happened? Fixing what went wrong that day would solve everything?" she asked.

"Exactly," he responded.

"What went wrong, according to you?" the witch inquired.

"Maybe I had to block my mind to prevent being possessed. Maybe I can go back in time and keep him away. No possession, no unvanquished Dark Lord," he suggested.

"That would change everything..." She bit her lip. What about Draco? What about her family? What about her baby?

Hermione Granger had never been a selfish person: duty always came first. What was good for everyone was more important than what was good for one person. Hermione wished Hermione Malfoy were selfish though. Yes, everything could be better, but at what cost? For her, the cost would be her husband, her baby, her family.

But Hermione Malfoy was also Hermione Granger. She would do the right thing. Making the hardest decision of her life, she replied, "Then, you need to learn Occlumency, and I know the right person to teach you.

_Who's the martyr now?_  a voice in her mind asked.

**...**

"Right, Potter, I'm doing this only because my wife asked me." Draco spat.

"Too difficult to call her Hermione?" Harry asked, almost disgusted. Yes, he could understand Hermione's feelings for the git but that didn't mean he wanted to hear the ferret being lovey-dovey with her. Ugh.

"Believe me, Potter, saying that it's a favour to my wife benefits you. Now, clear your mind!" the blond ordered.

**...**

"Ready?" Hermione asked her husband.

"Yeah, just this fucking tie. Help?"

One of the things she loved the most about her husband was that even though he was the proudest man she knew, he trusted her enough to ask for her help, even with small problems.

"Done," she said after making the knot. "How did it go with Harry?"

"Better. He knows the basics; just a few more practice sessions and he'll be ready." Hermione rested her arms around Draco's shoulders caressing his hair.

"Your hair is getting longer," she whispered.

"Nice try witch, but I won't cut it. Hundreds of Malfoys had this same look. Even if my bastard of a father has it, too, I won't change how I look. I want to uphold my family name even as a blood-traitor." He kissed her reply away.

"I heard what you told him about me," he whispered to her lips.

"That you like to have all the blankets at night?" She kissed him softly while he shook his head.

"What did you hear?" she whispered; having him so close still made her breathless despite all their years together.

"You told him that you love me, that I am your equal, that I make you a better person…" He decided it would be better to finish the list by kissing her, a soul-searching, satisfying kiss. A kiss full of love.

"I love you, too, Hermione," he said before kissing her again.

**...**

Most of Harry's former classmates and some people he didn't know were gathered in the Malfoy house that Christmas. A few of them had children, like Pansy Parkinson-Thomas and her husband Dean; they had five-year-old Hazel. Another example were Marcus Flint and Padma Patil, with three-year-old Charles.

Ron suggested not telling everyone about Harry until the meeting, and everyone who had been at the house the day before agreed. Harry endured the length of the party pretending to be Blaise Zabini, endured the sex jokes Nott told him, endured strange witches flirting at him, and tried to avoid anyone who could ask him something he most likely didn't know.

But despite all of that, he enjoyed himself. He ate a delicious dinner made by Fleur, Victoire, and Hermione. He sang Christmas carols when Flint played the piano, and he played with the mini-fireworks with the children.

During the gift exchange, he watched: the small groups, all enjoying Christmas despite the horrors they were living with. He wanted to be a part of them. He missed Christmas at Hogwarts. He felt as if it'd been a good couple of years without a proper Holiday—even if he had technically only missed one. He felt as if he'd missed a lifetime of friendships.

**...**

The reactions to the news of Harry Potter's soul in Blaise Zabini's body ranged from incredulously happy to confused shock. Now, in the aftermath of said news, the two groups were discussing what to do henceforth.

"We go on with our plans of taking the Ministry or what?" Adrian Pucey asked.

"Harry has an opinion and a plan... and I agree with both," Hermione said avoiding the eyes of her husband.

"What plan?" Ron Weasley demanded.

Harry explained the plan he told Hermione earlier. Time travel wasn't an easy thing, and if done correctly, Harry would be changing everyone's life, so this needed to be thoroughly discussed.

"This really could change everything," Pansy reflected, holding her husband's hand tighter.

"For good? I'm not saying that things are ok now, but…" Marcus Flint's voice faltered.

"I don't want to lose what I have now," someone said.

"You agree, Hermione? There's a high a possibility that you won't be Malfoy's wife," Terry Boot asked the witch.

Still without looking at Draco, she responded, "I know. If Harry wins the Battle of Hogwarts and You-Know-Who ceases to exist, it's not guaranteed I'll have my future with Draco. All my experiences these last ten years have been intertwined with Draco's. Without them, maybe I wouldn't fall in love with him but…" her voice broke, "…there's a bigger picture than my happiness with him. People have suffered—they still are. We have seen it. We can't ignore that."

Everyone was quiet after her speech, reflecting, thinking about whether the gains were worth risking what they may lose.

"We need a Time Turner," Draco Malfoy said. Everyone's eyes focused him. No on disagreed.

"But, they don't exist anymore," Lavender said.

"To civilians, perhaps. The only ones in the United Kingdom are in the Department of Mysteries." Theodore Nott informed.

"What do we do?" Parvati asked.

"We still try to take the Ministry," Ron said with a fiery look. "We'll just have to split again. One group takes the Ministry, neutralizing the Aurors, and the other goes to the Department of Mysteries."

"What about Hogwarts?" Harry remembered the ruins he'd seen when he woke up the day before.

"Hogwarts is now just the symbol of the victory of the Dark Lord. It isn't a school, just a shell of the former castle, warning and reminding everyone of his power. To learn magic you have to pass a test, and those who are approved are taught in the former Malfoy Manor," Draco explained.

"Everyone knows that the Ministry is after our group, but they don't know there are two factions. They just kill everyone whom they suspect has been in contact with us. Something or someone – we don't know– exposed us. We use Hogsmeade as an exchange point; we leave what's useful for the other group in a small cottage at the end of the village and vice versa. Snape left a couple of books there, too, but Hermione is the only one who can read them perfectly.

"All of the non-Death Eater population is tired of being chased. So, ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts, we plan to take over their main power: the Ministry. That way, people would know that we won't bow down to the Death Eaters, and they will know the hard way that we're not just a few against them," Dean Thomas said after being quiet all the meeting.

"That's why everyone is here, Harry. We planned this for tomorrow morning, when they least suspect," Hermione further informed.

"Christmas Day?" Harry inquired.

"The Ministry doesn't celebrate Christmas. They consider it a Muggle holiday. 'Pure-blood' people—the few who still go by such labels—celebrate Yule, and that ws three days ago," Adrian responded.

"I think there are too many people for the group going after the Time Turner. I think we just need five people to retrieve the Time Turner." Pansy proposed.

"You're not going," Dean said, and Pansy huffed.

"Isn't it obvious? It'll be The Golden Trio and two others." Theo Nott laughed.

"No," someone, likely Anthony Goldstein, said. "We need Weasley in the main attack, Granger as well, but I guess she would be better in the Department of Mysteries group. The quieter, the better."

"We need the swifter people we have. Tracey, Nott, Granger, and I will accompany Potter," Draco ordered. "We'll leave the muscle to Weasley."

Everyone laughed. Besides the plan for the next day, Harry learned about maturity; all his former mates were adults now, not just physically. They unwillingly traded their innocence for expertise at war. Do what it takes to make a better future, if not for them, then for future generations. He didn't know whether to be glad or sad about that, but seeing all of them made him want to be just as mature.

Watching Ron plan for the battle, Harry couldn't see his seventeen-year-old friend. Now, he saw a smug and fair leader. He decide that being glad was the best.

**...**

After the meeting, two witches hid in the bathroom. The raven-haired one asked the brunette, "Did you do the spell?"

"Yes," the brunette said.

"AND?" Pansy asked.

"Blue." Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Pansy's excited face.

"How long?" Pansy kept asking.

"According to the glow, I estimate three months."

"And you just suspected? Lucky chit. The worst thing about pregnancy is the morning sickness the first months." The Slytherin laughed. Then, she sobered up, asking, "And you're still going to fight tomorrow? And potentially lose… everything by letting the Time Turner take Potter back?"

"I have to," the Gryffindor face was thoughtful.

"You're aware that if Draco finds out, he will skin you alive?" Pansy demanded.

"I still have to," was the other witch's only response.

Unbeknownst to both women, a man outside the bathroom door heard their entire exchange.


	5. Part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut in the entire chapter, except the last part. Read under your own responsibility :)

**Part VI**

After her talk with Pansy, Hermione went to bed. Draco was already there, changing clothes. Hermione sat in the queen-sized bed, admiring her husband's body; with twenty seven years on his back, Draco Malfoy was still as handsome as he'd been at twenty-three.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Draco murmured to his wife.

"For what?" Hermione asked.

"For all the hurtful things I've said to you when we were younger." He paused inhaling and slowly exhaling.

"I just realized that if Potter changes the future, maybe my 'new' past self won't have the courage and sense to apologize to you, so I'll do it for both of us, past and old future," Draco said with a sad smile. He didn't want to stop being her husband, but for the greater good… God, he hated being selfless.

"Oh Draco! I love you!" She threw herself to his arms. "Thank you. I know you love me. You never apologized, but I always knew how sorry you were... are. I love you, and I want you to know that I don't want to stop being you wife if I had any other choice... but…" Hermione started crying.

"I know." He held her tighter.

Hermione moved away from him to sit in their bed. She reached for him, inviting him to sit with her. "Hold me, Draco."

"What I want now is to be with my wife, maybe for the last time." He said surrounding her in his arms and nuzzling her neck.

She kissed him, and he immediately responded. Tears leaked from her eyes; he could taste them. But for Draco, it was the sweetest kiss.

Minutes or maybe hours later, they were lying on the bed still kissing. His hands found her waist and then her hips and then he reached her most sacred place. He loved pleasuring her like this. He groaned at the thought that he was the only man who had touched her there.

They wanted to savour the last of their marriage and each other, for the last time.

"Make love to me Draco," Hermione whispered in her lover's ear.

He didn't need to be asked twice. He stroked her hair with his other hand and kissed her. It was ironic that he would miss her long, curly hair when he'd constantly mocked her about it when they were younger. He had missed seeing her with her bushy mop but hadn't had the heart to discourage her about her new looks—she liked it that way.

But her bushy hair had made her look innocent. But nobody was innocent anymore.

She interrupted their kissing, moaning in ecstasy. His lips travelled to her neck. He smirked: Hermione couldn't do anything but writhe in pleasure under him.

He wanted to remind her of one of the reasons she married him: the great, mind-blowing sex.

She whimpered when Draco stopped touching her but didn't have time to ask him why he stopped. He reached the front of her Christmas dress and slid it off her breasts, hips, and legs, leaving her with only her knickers.

He located himself between her legs, his sex over hers, softly caressing. He leaned over her and took a rosy nipple in his mouth. Hermione cried out at this. Her breasts were tender because of her pregnancy, but she couldn't tell him so. Instead, she lost herself in the pleasure of Draco's tongue sucking her nipples.

After sucking and properly pleasuring both breasts, Draco's mouth found Hermione's. He rested his weight on his elbows and left just one leg between Hermione's. While fervently kissing his wife, he felt the amazing sensation of her slippery nipples against his chest. He reached the band of her knickers, and decided that she had too much on.

He knelt before his witch, drinking in her erotic image. Almost naked and spread out for him. He felt like a mortal who was offered a mythological nymph, just for one night of sinful pleasure. He discarded her knickers and returned his affections to her pussy. Licking, nipping with a torturous rhythm, up and down, down and up. Encircling her clit with his tongue and then her cunt, again and again.

Hermione couldn't take anymore and exploded in an intense orgasm, screaming and trembling in pleasure.

After the last tremour of the witch's orgasm, he reached her face again to kiss her. His face glistering from her juices.

Hermione kissed him, positioning herself over him. "My turn," she murmured.

She caressed his body on the journey to his cock, giving special attention to his nipples and bellybutton. She reached his trousers and without preamble, she wandlessly disappeared them. She positioned herself over his proud, erect member, rubbing it with her sex. She suddenly remembered their first time together.

_When Draco removed his pants, Hermione stared at his penis. As a virgin, she was somewhat scared. How would he fit inside of her? HE WAS HUGE!_

_"You're huge!" she whispered breathlessly._

_"Why, thank you, Granger. That's what every bloke wants to hear from a girl." He chuckled._

Hermione chuckled at the memory, as a virgin she would had thought of any penis as huge but she didn't want to hurt her husband ego. Draco heard her. "It's not polite for a woman to laugh at the sight of a bloke's manhood," he uttered.

"I wasn't laughing at your penis, love. I was remembering the first time I saw it. I didn't think we could fit," she told him.

"I remember." He chuckled. "But after seven years of amazing sex, we still fit perfectly. Now, suck me dry, wife," he commanded.

She happily obliged, placing her hand around his shaft, caressing it from base to tip, back and forth, enjoying the sound of her husband's groans.

After torturous minutes, she licked his weeping tip, and then, she pressed soft gentle kisses over his entire length while fondling his balls with her hands. Later, when she was done kissing him, she returned to the head, licking it and then sucking it. When Draco thought he was going insane, he felt her hot, wet mouth enveloping him.

She brought him to the edge of an orgasm with his manhood sliding down the impossibly tight back her throat. When she pulled out, he decided he was done waiting, he wanted to be inside her. Now.

He reached for her and rolled them over, positioning himself between her legs, and gazing down at her lust-filled eyes, he buried himself balls-deep inside.

They both groaned at the sensation of finally being together. They would never tire of this feeling, the feeling of belonging equally to someone. Draco wanted her slow, fast, hard, soft and everything in between. He wanted to have her in every form he could.

He moved again and again within her, slow strokes, savouring the moment. Then, he couldn't stand the slow pace. He began to move in earnest, filling her, marking her. She met him halfway, responding to each thrust with her hips, abandoning every thought in the pleasure of being one with her love.

He was moving so deeply inside of her that they couldn't make out where he ended and she began. He moved until the final moment, when they both exploded at the same time.

She was clutching him so tight that she left the marks of her nails in his shoulder.  _That must hurt_ , she thought but didn't want to let him go, not yet. She wanted nothing more than to hold him a bit longer—forever if she could.

"Do you know my biggest pleasures in life?" Draco asked.

"Making love?" she responded.

"Yes, that and fucking you into the mattress."

Limbs tangled in the bed, the couple slept through the night in dreamless slumber.

**...**

"Thought you wouldn't make it to breakfast, Malfoy." Theo Nott mocked the blond.

"Believe me, I would still be sleeping in my wife's arms if we haven't have to go," Draco responded.

Throughout breakfast, the house was filled with a solemn silence. The importance of the success of the mission rested on the shoulders of every member. Nobody dared to speak, and no one tasted the food—they just ate, mechanically.

What if Potter didn't succeed? That was the greatest fear.

"You know, if Potter doesn't succeed, then he can come back, and we can form a third group. The Ferret, The Weasel, and… a third one. We'll think of the name later. Just letting you know that I won't be wearing a scar for you Potter." Theo joked.

"Why would I want you, you twat? I'd rather be under the ferret's orders than have you." Harry retorted.

"Hey! Watch it! I'm still here!" Draco glared. Everyone laughed at this. Everything would be all right. Even if not for all of them, things would be made better for them having tried.


	6. Part VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lines from the original book (I think, I searched for the lines online because my DH copy is in spanish:P)

**Part VII**

The plan was simple: Ron would lead the main group directly toward the Minister's office and take the Minister, a Death Eater known as Evan Rosier, hostage. Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint, Dean Thomas, Terry Boot, and Penelope Clearwater would lead smaller groups to take over the rest of the Ministry completely.

Draco and Hermione Malfoy, Tracey Davis, Theodore Nott, and Harry Potter would await Ron's Patronus before infiltrating and using the ensuing battle to distract their opponents from their task.

Harry watched everyone Apparate to the Ministry; parents saying their goodbyes to their children was the most heart-wrenching situation he had ever witnessed. The children, those not old enough to fight, were left to the care of Fleur and Pansy.

Ron approached Harry with his hands his pockets and smiled sadly. "This is it mate. Good luck and don't fuck it up."

"Thanks so much for your faith in me," Harry retorted. Both friends shared a brotherly hug.  _If all goes well, I'll see you soon_ , Harry thought.

"It's time," Luna called to Ron. She flashed a smile at Harry. "You'll finish this war, Harry. I feel it in my bones."

Minutes after everybody left the house, Harry was already losing his mind with worry. What would happen if he failed? Would everyone still be all right? He felt as if time was running out.

A good hour later, a flash of light with the figure of a bird broke into the middle of the living room. "We were ambushed at Rosier's office. We had a traitor!" the frantic voice of Terry Boot said.

"Shit!" Draco cursed. He calm down and gazed frantically at Pansy and Fleur. He started instructing them. "Go to the house in London! Hide the children and do not admit ANYONE without knowing for sure their identity and their allegiances!"

"Draco, this is the best distraction!" Hermione said to his husband.

"Are you out of your mind? This is even more dangerous! Everyone should come back!" he replied.

"I agree with Hermione, Draco." Tracey Davis said.

"Everyone is so confused right now that nobody is going to notice five people sneaking into the Department of Mysteries," Theo reasoned.

The blond helplessly stared at his wife. This was their best shot, and he knew it. "If you fuck this up Potter, I'll fucking kill you!"

**...**

The small group Apparated outside the Ministry building, near the visitor's entrance. Harry initially thought they were going to access it from there, but a don't-be-stupid look from Draco made him think better.

The toilets were a better option. They agreed to meet at the fountain in the middle of the Atrium and use glamour charms; they could not lift them until every one of them was there. At that moment, Harry Potter finally felt the weight of the mission in his shoulders.

He was not in a dream any longer. People were fighting and dying down there for the hope of a better tomorrow.

All Harry could do was fix their past.

Harry disguised himself and then flushed the toilet. He found himself leaving a fireplace and headed to the fountain. The Atrium was shattered, in ruins; there were just two people dueling, the only ones still standing. A Death Eater was blocking the only elevator.

People were on the floor, possibly dead. He commanded himself not to look into their faces. He wanted so desperately to help the duelist on their side but knew he couldn't give himself away. He waited until he felt a burning sensation in his chest, his new cue to head to the Level Nine, to the Department of Mysteries.

Hermione lifted her glamour charm and knocked out the dueling Death Eater. Harry finally realized the other duelist was Lavender Brown.

"Where are the others?" Theo asked.

"They are fighting in the Auror's office and the Minister's office. We cleaned all the ones here, but our element of surprise was shattered! We have a traitor!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Go back with Pansy and Fleur. They have moved to the London house. We need more people to protect the children. If we have a traitor, then, they are in danger too." Lavender nodded at Draco's order.

Harry could see the changes in her, too: gone was the giggling and annoying girl from his student days. In her place was a hard, strong Amazon.

For the life of him he hoped we wasn't walking into a trap.

He felt a sense of  _déjà-vu_  while running down the corridor to the department; everything was the same as his fifth year. He felt no better comparing the situations, remembering how the last trip had ended.

They were running so fast that he couldn't stop in time and collided with a sort of wall. He fell to the floor. He then realized that he hadn't collided with a wall; instead, he'd smashed his face into a Shield Charm.

"Remember Harry, we need to take you to the Time Room to look for a Time Turner." Hermione whispered.

"Why have we stopped?" he asked.

"The Rotating Room is not unoccupied," Draco responded.

The group reached the end of the corridor, arriving at the Rotating Room. Harry recognized the twelve doors and prayed he wouldn't accidentally enter the room with the brains again or anything equally disturbing. All five of them were alert and with wands drawn. Harry saw a Death Eater reclining against a door right in front of them. He saw two others to his left and right. There were five Death Eaters in total.

"Well, and I thought we were being stuck here as punishment, that all the fun is above. I was wrong. Little Draco and his playmates want to play down here." A Death Eater mocked.

"Suck it Montague. The top Death Eaters didn't want you; they sent you here so you'd be out of the way. You just got lucky." Draco taunted in return.

"Then, I wouldn't be here," the Death Eater who was reclining against the door said. The Death Eaters all removed their masks. Graham Montague was accompanied by Lucius Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, and Crabbe Senior.

"Lucius." Draco went rigid next to Hermione.

"Ah, Zabini! Bringing Draco and his little gang wasn't part of the deal; you just agreed to inform us of their plan to be here," Lucius said.

"You're the traitor?" Theo asked a shocked Harry.

"Yes, son, he saw reason and joined us, even if it was just for his whore of a mother." Nott Senior mocked. "Zabini was captured when he went to Hogwarts before Christmas, and in exchange for information, we promised to release him and his mother."

Hermione took advantage of everyone's distraction and casted a  _Reducto_ at the wall behind the Death Eaters.

There was no time for exchanging explanations.

The wall exploded into a million of pieces, making the nearest door collapse over Crabbe Senior and Goyle Senior and giving time for Draco to whisper orders: "Tracey, take Montague; Theo, take Crabbe and Goyle; Hermione take Nott; and I'll take Lucius. Potter, you just hide, and at the first opportunity, grab one of us and search for the Time Room."

"Granger, kick my father's ass for me," were the last words Harry heard Theo say before he headed toward his opponents.

When everyone parted ways, it seemed to Harry that everything was happening in slow motion. He could see every hex thrown and everybody switch position; he could see a dead Tracey Davis fall to the floor, avenged by a furious Theo Nott. He could see frowning, Lucius Malfoy sneering at his son abilities; Hermione saving a distracted Theo with a Shield Charm. Then, he could hear a suddenly explosion.

He couldn't see anybody, but he saw an opportunity to search for the room he needed. He grabbed the first person not wearing black and ran to the nearest door. They entered and found themselves inside the room of Prophecies.

"We need to find a different door so that we can reach the Time Room," a coughing Hermione said.

They walked throughout the room for a short time when they felt the shelves around them explode. They heard a piercing scream that got louder; they ran. Harry couldn't see any door, and panicking, he turned his head. The voice stopped screaming and the broken shelves were replaced by a fiery flame that was approaching them quickly.

The Fiendfyre Curse destroyed the wall. Harry grabbed a pale Hermione and started looking for any exit door. Shelf after shelf became a lost cause, and the panic was getting stronger, impeding Harry from running. During fifth year, there had been a door at the end of the rows of shelves, and now it was being blocked by Lucius Malfoy, his clothes singed.

How had Harry and Hermione not noticed that he had followed them?

Harry was about to cast a Stunning Spell when a hex hit Lucius from the back, knocking him unconscious. Draco appeared behind him, his face burnt and one arm bleeding. Hermione raced toward him, taking his good arm to help him walk.

"Goyle, Crabbe, Nott Sr., Montague, Tracey, and Theo are dead. Montague casted the Fiendfyre and took Theo and himself with it," Draco informed them.

The shelves around them were on fire now. They ran to the door, but Draco had a bleeding leg as well, slowing him down. The fire quickly surrounded them.

Hermione was about to cast a Bubble-head Charm on Draco when he stopped her. "Go! Just leave me here," he insisted.

"NO!" she protested.

"The mission Granger. We're close! End it!" He was trying to free himself for her grasp.

"NOT WITHOUT YOU!" Hermione cried.

"Our success is more important. Our future is in our past, even if we don't end up together. That's why you came, despite your condition," he said, looking at her teary and stunned eyes.

"Take care of her, Potter. This act of selflessness is a once in a lifetime deal; don't waste it."

Harry casted the charm to immobilize the reluctant Hermione and pulled her towards the door. They saw the fire swallow the body of Draco Malfoy. Harry could swear that the last thing he heard the Slytherin say was, "Take care my love."

A crying Hermione, now mobile, was the first to reach the room behind the door. The chamber was filled with clocks, parchment, and hourglass pedants. At last, they reached the Time Room. Harry reached for the nearest Time Turner and put it around himself. Lifting his gaze, he saw Hermione.

The woman was about to collapse. She'd just lost her husband and there was no other exit door, just the one leading back to the one they had left. It was very likely that the Fiendfyre would reach this room soon. He wanted to stay for her but knew he couldn't, not after all the sacrifices everyone had made to allow him to reach this point. He enveloped her in a strong hug.

Hermione cried in his arms, but before he could say anything, she moved away from him and looked around for something. She reached a shelf next to what seemed to be clocks and started searching. She found a Time Turner.

"How will I travel if I'm using Zabini's body?" Harry suddenly asked.

"This type of Time Turner allows just your soul to travel back in time, not the body it's in. When you told me your theory of Time Travel, I went to the house's library for a solution concerning your soul and Blaise's body."

He looked at the necklace; it was different from the one Hermione had used in third year. This one had specific runes—to determine the exact date to set the destination, Hermione told him.

"What about Zabini's soul?" Harry asked.

"It's only my theory, but I think you possessed Blaise's body the same way Vol—Tom Riddle possessed Ginny's, but Riddle was only capable of controlling her for short periods of time. But I think I may be right now that we found out from Nott Senior about Blaise being the traitor.

"Blaise is a good man. He confided in Draco and me the reason he was on the run. His mother married a Death Eater to ensure her own safety, but the man didn't want her to have children that weren't his. Because of that, he abused her. Blaise decided to leave his childhood home and his mother to solve the problem.

"But in the end, he still wanted to save her, so he used information about our plans as his bargaining tool. My guess is that he felt guilty for sabotaging the mission after he rescued her and knew he'd likely be sending us to our deaths, he must have known about what your necklace is; and didn't fight you for his body. He hoped for the best and surrendered his body to you in hopes of redemption. How he knew it was Harry Potter's soul… he only knows." Hermione explained.

"What time do you want to go back?" she asked.

"Exactly when I'm dueling with Volde—You-Know-Who." He requested.

"May 2nd, 1998... Right before he possess you… Take care, Harry," she she whispered, about to cry again. "Just... please make me find love with Draco again... Do it for me, for us," she added with a hand over her belly.

"I will," he responded.

"Happy Christmas, Harry."

"Harry Christmas, Hermione."

He disappeared.

**...**

Harry opened his eyes. No Time Room or Hermione. He was face-to-face with Voldemort again. They were in the Great Hall, a red glow bursting from the enchanted sky above them as a light from a window covered them both. Time to fight. He readied himself; he knew that there was too much to lose now. He was aware of the future, he was aware of all the people around him,  _his_  people. He gripped Draco's old wand and hoped that his sessions of Occlumency were enough to block the Dark Lord.

**...**

_We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one,_

_And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun_!*

Harry felt exhausted. Trying to block Malfoy was nothing compared to having to block Voldemort, but he did it. Now, all he wanted was to go to the Gryffindor dorms and sleep until he could sleep no more. On his way to his bed, at the bottom of a moving staircase, he saw seventeen-year-old Draco Malfoy.  _Weird_ , he thought. He was now used to seeing him as an adult and not this pale and scrawny teenager.

"Harry!" Hermione called from a corridor.

When she approached him, he looked to where Malfoy was. He was now with his mother. "What do you think will happen with them?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she said, biting her lip. Dismissing any other question, she ordered him. "Go to the dormitories! Kreacher made you sandwiches!"

Hearing Hermione's indifference towards Draco made Harry's heart clench. It was bizarre to think that a few hours ago, he had seen this same woman go nearly insane at the loss of the same man she was now dismissing.

At that moment, he swore not to break his promise to her, even if the Hermione in front of him didn't remember making it.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Ten Years Later_

Harry Potter was in the kitchen of his home, Grimmauld Place, helping his wife Ginny Potter to prepare the Christmas dinner. Ginny kept sending him strange looks. Harry was no fan of parties, that was a known fact, he just usually skipped them. It was strange that now, after all these years, he wanted to host one.

Of course, unbeknownst to Ginny, Harry was commemorating the event from ten years ago, when he had traveled back in time to hopefully restore their world. He was continually amazed at how different everything had turned out. He wanted to celebrate peace, life, and the fact that he hadn't "screwed up the mission", even though nobody around him had reason to believe a different reality had existed.

Harry could never bring himself to tell his wife about his little adventure into an alternative future, so he just told her that he wanted to host the party for the kids. Harry was the happy father of James Sirius, Albus Severus, and a baby on the way. Most of his friend had kids, too,  it was the perfect excuse.

Kreacher appeared by the door of the kitchen and informed that missus Hermione and her husband had arrived.

"Potter, She-Potter and offspring!" Draco drawled as he noticed a raven-haired, three-year-old boy try to sneak out a cookie. "Happy Christmas or whatever. I'm hungry." The smug blond man stated.

"For the love of Merlin, Draco! Is it that difficult to call them by their names? And you just ate all the cookies at home!" An annoyed Hermione asked.

"I'm a growing father, Granger. I need every ounce of energy I can get. Besides, it isn't in our marriage contract to call your friends by their names, meaning that I don't really have to," he smirked.

"Why did you marry the git again, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"He got me pregnant," she said, hugging the redhead, "and he promised me a huge library if I married him. I couldn't resist."

"That's not the only huge thing about me." He smirked.

"Draco! The children," Hermione shrieked.

"My love for you, for instance, is infinite. I think it counts as huge," he said innocently.

Harry laughed at their bickering. Even married they still fought a lot, but they were happy. At first, with so much fighting, they didn't make any easy his intentions to fulfill his promise to Hermione.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, the wizarding world had been quickly rebuilt. The Death Eaters and their accomplices had been put on trail. All those captured had been sentenced—Lucius Malfoy had been given life imprisonment; those like Draco and Narcissa who had proved that they had been forced to side with the Dark Lord had only been sentenced to house arrest.

With all the horrors and crimes committed in his childhood home, Draco couldn't stay in the manor any longer. Harry had seen this as the perfect opportunity to bring his best friend and nemesis closer, he had offered to be Draco's probation officer. Draco reluctantly had spent his sentence in Grimmauld Place, helping Harry to make it habitable.

Hermione hadn't wanted go to Australia right after the war. She had wanted to put her life in order first and to help the wizarding world as well as to be completely at peace. Harry had suggested that she move in with him.

Ron had moved in with them, too, and he and Hermione started a relationship and had seemed happy. Harry felt sure that he would not be able to keep his promise—he hadn't wanted either of his best friends hurt by his attempt at matchmaker.

Two months later, that issue failed to be not a problem, as Hermione and Ron broke things off, both claiming they were better being friends.

Harry had had to be careful to not scare off either of them; he had paired them up to make meals together one day and clean the second floor the next. At first, a tentative friendship arose.

Weeks passed until Hermione couldn't put off retrieving her parents anymore. She had been scared. She couldn't face the possible rejection of her parents. Harry couldn't say anything right for her situation, neither could Ron. Surprisingly, Draco was the only one who could offer her comfort.

_"You should go to your parents, Granger. They can't hate you. You did the right thing. Knowing you, if your parents were magical, they would have been self-righteous Gryffindors like you. Anyway, I could accompany you, you know; I could show them the Dark Mark, let them know that they didn't miss anything."_

After a year of house arrest, Draco had flown with Hermione to Australia. They disappeared completely after that. Harry had heard from them just only few times for the next five years through letters. Hermione had restored Mr. and Mrs. Granger memories and they had decided to stay in Melbourne until Christmas. Draco had celebrated his newfound freedom by asking Hermione to accompany him on a 'little' trip around the world.

On Christmas Day of the 2004, a happily married Draco and Hermione Malfoy had appeared on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place. They were ready to settle finally in England, now that they were having twins on the way.

"Oi! Potter, what are you cooking? Better not be poisoning my family." Draco asked, interrupting Harry's trip down memory lane.

"Draco, be polite," Hermione said.

"Salad." Harry laughed. Long time ago, he had learned to live with and ignore Draco's snarky and sarcastic remarks, but it was always hilarious hearing Hermione reprimand him.

"Daddy, may I go play with Jamie?" five-year-old Pollux Malfoy asked.

"Take your brothers with you," his father said.

"C'mon!" the boy pulled his brothers with him.

Hermione and Draco had three boys, five-year-old twins Castor and Pollux and two-year-old Scorpius. All of them were blond and silver-eyed but with their mother's curly hair.

All three boys ran to the play room, followed by James, who left his hiding place by the fridge.

"Where did you come from?" Ginny demanded to James, but the boy was long gone.

"I swear those boys will be the death of me!" exclaimed the red-haired woman.

"You only have two! I deal with three Malfoy boys and sometimes with four." Hermione eyed her husband. "I just hope that this little one is a girl!" she said, placing a hand on her baby bump.

"You don't know what you are going to have yet?" Ginny asked, sitting with Hermione by the coffee table.

"So... Potter, is Weasley coming?" Draco asked, eyeing the salad suspiciously.

"No, he won't return from his honeymoon until after New Year's." The Gryffindor responded, smacking the blond's hand from the cookie jar.

"Who would have thought: Weasley and the younger, Veela Delacour girl." Draco said, distracting Harry from observing him reach into the cookie jar.

"Since Gabrielle moved in with Fleur, they have become close. Nobody would have guessed, but the same could be said about 'Mione and you, you know."

"Married with three boys and a baby on the way. This time, I'm sure it's a girl, but even if it isn't, she doesn't want to have more than four. Mother would be thrilled with ten." Draco laughed.

"She has the patience of steel, like Molly. Without Molly, I would have been driven insane with the boys…" Harry was interrupted by a squeal from beside the coffee table.

"Guess Ginny told your wife that we're expecting again." Harry's smile was one of a happy if mad man. "She hopes for a girl, too. Imagine, our girls will be together at Hogwarts." Harry mused.

"If it's a girl, Hermione wants to name her Genevieve, but I want to continue with the Black tradition." Draco shrugged.

"The best you can do is not to cross your pregnant wife, mate. She's the one giving birth, after all. Three Black names are enough." The Gryffindor advised.

"Guess you're right," the Slytherin said while eating his third cookie.

Harry returned his gaze to the coffee table. Hermione looked happy. She and Draco were together and with a growing family. All of his friends had a brilliant future. The hassle of the party was worth it to see with his own eyes how things had turned out right.

"Life is good," Draco Malfoy said, watching his pregnant wife laugh.

"Yeah, life is good," Harry agreed.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the dramione-remix round 3 2012 (couple Bonnie/Clyde). This is my first story ever and it is complete. My main language is not English but thanks to the wonderful dormiensa this fic is BETAed. Thank you for bearing with my mistakes :)


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